The Downfall of us All
by modaprincesa
Summary: The Death Eaters have a new mission and he doesn't want to go, but it's his only choice... isn't it? DM/HG one-shot!


Disclaimer: I do not own a thing! Just the plot :]

**The Downfall of us All  
**_Lyrics by A Day to Remember_

_This fic is mildly DH compliant in a kinda-sorta-not-really kinda way!_

- - - - - - - - - -

_Da da da de da da da  
Da da da de da da da  
Let's go_

Rain drizzled down outside the dusty window of Hagrid's small cabin at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Would you at least look at me?" Draco said as he stared pleadingly at the girl staring out the window, arms crossed and jaw locked. Draco glanced to the side, where Hagrid was standing glaring at him.

"I know you don't understand the situation, _professor_ Hagrid, but do you think you could give us a minute alone?" he asked scathingly.

"Don't you talk to Hagrid like that!" Hermione shot, turning to face him, arms still crossed tightly over her chest.

"If you would just talk to me I _wouldn't_," Draco shot back.

"Hagrid, I know we barged in on you, but I didn't know where else to go," Hermione said, looking over at him apologetically, "Do you think you could give us a minute?"

"Righ', o' course," Hagrid said, nodding awkwardly to Hermione, "I think I'll go take Fang for a walk in the woods."

Hagrid nodded to each of them, "Come 'ere, Fang," he said as they walked out the door.

As soon as the door clicked shut again Hermione turned her back to Draco and looked back out the window.

"You don't know what this is like for me," Draco said, "It's just something I have to do."

Hermione shook her head, but said nothing.

"Please," he said, walking closer to her. He put a hand on her shoulder gently, hoping to calm down their conversation.

Hermione cringed away from him, "Don't touch me."

"Damnit, would you just _listen to me_!"

Hermione turned around sharply, "Alright, go ahead then, try to explain, I'm sure it will help," she said sarcastically.

"It's not what I want," he pleaded, "It's just how it is."

"Just how it _is_?" Hermione growled, "It doesn't _have_ to be how it is. You can stay… you know you can be protected here."

"I am still loyal to my family, Granger."

"And what about me?" Hermione asked quietly, "This was nothing to you?"

"You know that's not true," Draco said, taking a step closer and running the back of this hand softly across her cheek, "This has meant everything to me, Granger. I didn't expect this to happen so soon—"

"So soon?" Hermione cut in, "_So soon_? So you were planning on leaving this whole time then? Skipping seventh year all together? Even though we've given up so much to be together this past year? We've lied to our friends, disregarded wrong and right for both of us, betrayed our '_sides_,' for lack of a better word, all so you could just _leave_; When you _knew_ you were going to just leave like this."

"I thought we would have longer… I thought maybe we could figure something out before this time came. I have to go," he said with a tone of finality, "I'm sorry."

Hermione turned back around, tears welling up heavily in her eyes, "Just _go_ then!"

"Granger… I loved you… I just want you to know," he said quietly.

He waited a moment for a response and when none came he backed slowly to the door, not wanting to take his eyes off her. With one last torn look, he turned from her and left.

"I loved you too," Hermione cried softly to herself when she heard the door shut. She sank to the floor, shaking slightly, she looked at the necklace she was holding in her hand, a small emerald encircled by a silver serpent; small enough to hide from others, and big enough to keep close to her heart, to feel when they couldn't be together. She looked at it now, sparkling in the dim light of the cabin and closed her hand around it, ripping it off her neck and holding it to her, "I'm sorry it had to be like this."__

_It's not easy making a name for yourself  
Where do you draw the line?  
I never thought I'd be in this far  
Lets have some fun and never change that for anyone  
Try not to miss me when I'm gone  
Oooh oooh  
_

It wasn't much of a life in the dark, musty house that Draco was destined to stay in. It had been three months since he'd left Hogwarts; since he'd left Hagrid's cabin; since he'd left Hermione Granger, the love of the life he couldn't have anymore.

He wished he could have explained it to her; wished she could have understood. Following his parents and the Dark Lord was not what he wanted, but it was where he had to be. He needed to stand by his father and to support his mother. He'd be lying to himself if he thought he didn't miss her, but it wasn't an option. It wasn't safe, it wasn't smart, and it just wasn't possible.

They had been stationed here, with Bellatrix Lestrange and Crabbe's parents, during the time between missions. It had been about a week since their last mission in the search for Harry Potter and his friends. Draco dreaded these missions in fear that one time they might find them. He wondered what it was they were doing; were they simply hiding? He doubted it. _Like Potter would ever sit back and watch when there was an opportunity to be a hero_, he thought to himself. Wherever they were, he hoped Hermione was safe, hoped they were keeping an eye on her.

"Draco!" Lucius called from the other room, pulling Draco from his thoughts.

"Coming!" Draco responded. He got up from the old, dusty armchair he had been sitting in and walked to the kitchen.

Bellatrix, Mr. Crabbe, and Lucius were sitting at the table talking.

"We've gotten a lead," Bellatrix said with a devious smile.

"Oh yeah?" Draco asked trying to sound interested as his heart rate doubled, "What kind of lead?"

"Nott said he heard around that they've been camping out in forests, so we're going to try some near where they've got family. We're going to start with the places we know they have direct relations, the first is Romania. We'll be leaving in the morning so pack your bag," Lucius informed him.

"Yes, sir," he answered, breathing lighter knowing that their chances of finding them were slim without any real sightings. Draco left the room to head upstairs.

As he packed his bags he wished he could be where Hermione was now. He wished he could warn her that they were looking for her, tell her to go far away from anywhere they could be found. He couldn't believe they'd gone two and a half months without being found already. He didn't know how they were doing it, but he hoped they would keep it up to keep Hermione safe.

This life was lonely. Every day without Hermione was just as hard as the last. There was no one here to keep him sane or young. It was odd to him, but he found that even as the days wore on, he still felt the same. He still loved Hermione and he still wished he could be with her. If only his life hadn't brought him on this path, maybe it could have worked.

_  
I sold my soul to the open road  
Now I live my life alone  
You'll find me in the same spot believe me  
I could never stop, my life's turned upside down  
Meet me out past the train tracks I'm leavin' and not coming back  
You're right and I was wrong  
this town will be the downfall of us all._

  
Another four months had passed and Draco had not been back to that dark, damp house once. He had been backpacking with the Death Eaters for four months straight, looking high and low for any sign of Harry Potter. Each time they approached a prospective spot he would panic that this would be it, but so far, they had found nothing.

What would he do if they did find them? Could he really go through with bringing Hermione in, leading her to her death? Even the thought upset him. Where had this sensitive, caring Draco Malfoy come from? He didn't even know why he should care so much.

Their relationship started at the beginning of sixth year. They were forced partners in Arithmancy, lucky for Draco since Hermione was so good at it. They'd had homework, projects and studying to do together all year. They had meetings in empty classrooms to avoid being seen together and didn't stay long. It took a few weeks, but eventually they started being civil to each other. Draco was pretty smart himself, which earned him some credit from Hermione. Once he stopped calling her names and throwing in snide remarks, they even started getting along. She wasn't funny in a normal way, but she was uptight, and easily annoyed, which was funny in its own way.

He would pick on her for knowing so much, but in a joking way instead of malicious. He could even admit that she was pretty cute when she shot something back at him; he liked a feisty girl.

One night, after about two months of being partners, they were up late working on a project when it sparked. She was standing behind him leaning over his shoulder to look at a problem. When he turned to look at her to ask a question he found himself speechless.

"_What?" _she had asked.

He hadn't even answered her. They were about six inches apart and he couldn't take his eyes off her lips. He had always found her attractive; behind all that hair and those robes was a beautiful face and appealing body. He had looked her in the eye and seen confusion and longing. Without another thought he had pulled her closer and crashed his lips down on hers. It was hard, but not forceful; it was needy. There was so much pent up tension and passion between them that they had always attributed to hate; and more recently, just to frustration. But this was it; this was the reason for it. It felt right, but was so wrong. It was everything he had never felt in a kiss and everything he wanted to feel every time.

She had broken the kiss after a minute and stumbled back, _"I have to go_," she had said and ran from the room without even taking her things.

She hadn't come to class the next day, and skipped their meeting that night. When she came into class the day after, she didn't look at him or say a word the whole time. At the end of class, she was gone from her seat faster than it took him to turn his head to talk to her. He went to their empty classroom that night and waited.

Twenty minutes late, Hermione finally walked in the door.

"_You didn't come yesterday_," he had said, "_I brought you the book you left here."_

She looked at him, dropping her bag beside the chair and without a word, she walked to him, pushing him against the wall and kissed him. It was softer this time, wanting to know if what she was feeling could be real.

When they broke apart minutes later, he smiled down at her, "_Well I'm not sure this is the homework, Granger."_

"_Just tell me you feel it to," _she had ignored his question.

"_Yeah_," he said breathlessly, "_I feel it to_."

"_I ran the other day because I was scared. It's never been like that. I've never felt like this._"

"_You don't have to run again,"_ he said quietly, "_I want to keep feeling like this._"

Eventually they had made it to doing their work that night, but from then on, they had been together. Exclusively. Afraid of opposition, they kept their relationship a secret, alluding to their partnership in Arithmancy for explanations of why they had to spend so much time together when asked by their friends.

But it was love. It was real and it was getting stronger every day.

And then… and then he had to leave. It happened so suddenly that he didn't know how to explain it to her. His father had sent an owl telling him he would leave in the morning through the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement; there would be no disputing it.

Draco and Hermione had gone for a walk and as he tried to explain things she got madder and madder. She had stormed into Hagrid's cabin thinking he wouldn't follow her, but he did because he wanted her to understand. But she couldn't, why would she understand something like having to leave to follow the Death Eaters? And then… he left. He just hoped she knew it was all real, he did his best for her to make her happy while he could, but this was his life and he didn't have a choice.

_  
I'm gonna need you to try to follow along.  
I did the best that I could to try to write you songs.  
Now go tell them we sold out, like we're the ones who changed.  
I write what I feel, I say what I mean.  
You can't buy sincerity.  
_

Now here he was, somewhere in Northern Africa, where a good friend of Arthur Weasley lived near the jungle. It was hot and muggy, but on the plus side, there was no trace of Harry Potter here.

They packed up their things that morning and sat down at the picnic table Narcissa had conjured the night before.

"We're almost done with the list. It looks like we're heading back toward London now," Mr. Crabbe said as he checked off Gerdy Gedman of North Africa from the list.

The locations had been getting more and more obscure as they went on. Throughout the trips, Draco had seen the Death Eaters kill nine different witches and wizards. He couldn't look as they did this, he didn't want to be a murderer, and luckily, they hadn't made him yet.

He knew these murders must be affecting Hermione and her friends and their families, and that bothered him the most. Not that he cared too much about Potter and Weasley, but he didn't want to hurt Hermione anymore.

He wondered what his time away had done to her. He wondered if she was okay. _Weasel's probably taking fine care of her_, he thought sardonically to himself. What a perfect time for Hermione and Ron to realize their love for each other as everyone had always expected.

He wished he could be there. He wished they could have told people about them, even one person. It wouldn't have been accepted, but he wished it could have. They'd talked about it a few times, but Hermione was afraid her friends would hate her and Draco was afraid his friends would tell more important people about it who could do too much damage.

It had been difficult, but so worth it.

"Draco, we're leaving now," his mother handed his bag to him.

They apparated just outside of Surrey, where it was said that Harry's aunt and uncle lived. In a normal family, this would have been the first place they should have looked, but it was a known fact that Harry did not get along with his family. For this reason, Draco doubted they would be here, and, therefore, was calm as they pinpointed Privet Drive and started on their walk.

They waited until it was dark out before they approached number 4. The lights were all out; which wasn't odd considering there hadn't been any lights on since they'd started waiting.

Everyone took out their wands.

"_Bombardo!"_ Bellatrix said as the door flew open.

As they walked into the house, Draco noticed the dusty floors first, followed by the eerie quietness and the lack of ecletroniks… or whatever it was muggles used for light, clocks and radios.

"I don't think anyone has been here in a while," Draco said, smiling to himself.

"I'm mostly surprised he didn't leave his wretched aunt and uncle here to wait for us to show up," Lucius said.

"That's the problem with these damn _heroes_, they even save the ones they don't like," Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"Cover the house, just to make sure," Crabbe said, trying to sound authoritative.

After searching the house and coming up empty handed, they met back in the foyer.

"We should stay overnight, we'll head out in the morning," Lucius said.

The next three months held much of the same: going from place to place, each more unlikely than the last. It was a repetitive and useless journey, but Draco was glad they hadn't found anything yet.

Every day he still wished he could be with Hermione, wherever she was. He couldn't believe he still felt like this even after almost a year had passed. Why hadn't he stayed with her… sure, her friends would have been mad in the beginning, but as the obnoxiously accepting people they were, he was sure they would have gotten over it eventually. And then he could have been with her.

_  
I sold my soul to the open road  
Now I live my life alone  
You'll find me in the same spot believe me  
I could never stop, my life's turned upside down  
Meet me out past the train tracks I'm leavin' and not coming back  
You're right and I was wrong  
this town will be the downfall of us all._

__

A bleak morning of grey skies and heavy rain started the month of May. The group packed up their things from their latest journey and set out to scan the mountainside in Albania, where Dumbledore had once had a cousin. They spread out to cover more ground.

A loud *POP* filled the air and Narcissa strode toward the group.

"We've got them!" she exclaimed as she got closer, "Come now, we've got to go, Lucius apparated with them back to the manor!"

A look of triumph was shared by the group, excluding Draco, whose face was in utter shock, and they apparated back to Malfoy Manor.

"Where are they?" Bellatrix asked as they came into the library.

"In the basement!" Lucius said with excitement. Nott, Goyle and Macnair were there as well.

"Draco why don't you go down and search them, make sure they don't have anything we want," Narcissa suggested, "And then bring the Granger girl up, see if we can rile them up a bit and see what they wanted with Bella's vault."

Draco's heart was beating faster than he had ever remembered it beating before and, since he couldn't find the voice to speak, he simply nodded and headed to the basement.

Each stair was a chore, each breath came too fast. As he reached the bottom step, his heart was racing. He dreaded walking around the corner into the dungeon that had been set up when they had first captured Olivander. What would she look like all chained up? Could he handle seeing her that way? Would she blame him for this?

With one last deep breath he stepped around the corner and opened the door to the dungeon.

The torches around the room lit up as he stepped inside. Draco's eyes were immediately drawn to Hermione, thinner than she'd been the last time he'd seen her, and as beautiful as ever, even covered in dust from the stone floor.

Her eyes locked with his and hardened, "_You_ did this?"

"No…" he started, walking closer.

"Just stay away from me," Hermione yelled at him, tears running down her cheeks.

"I didn't…" he said feebly. He noticed Weasley and Potter looking at him strangely from beside Hermione. Olivander was still in the other corner along with Luna who sat quietly listening to the conversation.

A million thoughts were running through Draco's head.

"They're going to kill us," Hermione spat at him, "And then V-Voldemort is going to kill Harry. And you are a part of that."

"No," Draco stated, making up his mind, "That's not going to happen. Listen, Granger, they want you upstairs. Don't tell them anything, I'm going to stay down here and we'll figure something out, I just need to buy a few minutes to think. I'm sorry if anything happens to you, but I'm going to get you out of this."

"Oh yeah, Ferret? And why should we believe you?" Ron narrowed his eyes.

"You just need to," Draco told him, turning back to Hermione and taking the restraints off of her. She tried to pull away from his grip when she was free, but he held her tight and they walked outside the doors of the dungeon.

"Please trust me," Draco said, "I'm not going to let this happen."

"I can't trust you anymore, Malfoy," she pulled her hands out of his grip and walked up the stairs with her head held high.

More determined than ever, he walked back into the dungeon and took the ropes off of the remaining prisoners, "Okay, here's what we're going to do…"

Five minutes later he walked back up the stairs as Wormtail was walking down, Hermione's screams filling his ears. He rejoined the group and cringed at the scene before him. Bellatrix was using the Cruciatus curse.

A minute later Harry, Ron, Luna, Dobby, and a very ill Olivander burst through the basement door. Draco, who was standing next to the door, feigned surprise as Harry stole the wand at his side out of his hand.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled as he pointed the wand toward Bellatrix. The curse was lifted off of Hermione and before anyone could react after their shock, the group had moved to Hermione, who was only about a foot away, and, all touching each other, they vanished with a loud *POP*.

Panic ensued as the other Death Eaters lunged at the spot they had all been standing.

"The Dark Lord will be here any minute!" Bellatrix looked as if she was going to cry.

"Get them back here!" Lucius yelled.

"How did this happen?" Macnair screamed at Draco.

"I don't know!" Draco shouted back, "They were all still tied up when _I_ was down there! Maybe you should ask Wormtail, I passed him on the stairs as I was coming up.

The group of Death Eaters sprinted for the stairs, all coming to an abrupt halt as they came to the open door of the dungeon. Wormtail lie dead, his hand wrapped around his own neck.

The Death Eaters waited silently in the library for the Dark Lord to show up.

After the explanations and the punishments, the Dark Lord ranted something about Hogwarts and told everyone to gather the rest of the troops and they should meet him there within the hour.

As everyone scrambled to do as he said, Draco pulled his father and mother aside, "We're all going to die," he said.

"There is no time for this, Draco," his father said.

"He's right, Lucius," Narcissa was crying, "Even if we don't die in this battle, he's going to kill us for losing Potter."

"I have a way out of it," Draco cut in, "You need to trust me and come with me, we're leaving."

His parents looked at him incredulously.

"Father, do you really want this life anymore? You haven't been in His good graces for years and you know, as well as I do, what's coming for us if we all make it through tonight."

Lucius was quiet for a moment and then said in a whisper, "What else are we supposed to do?"

"You need to trust me, and I need you to be with me on this one hundred percent or we're all dead," Draco said as he told his father and mother his plan.

"This is all chance, Draco," Narcissa looked worried.

"It's the best chance we've got to survive," Draco said softly, "And it's the best chance we've got for some kind of redemption. We need to make a choice."

After a long pause, Lucius and Narcissa shared a look, "Okay, son, we're with you. I just hope they'll accept us."

_Don't forget yourselves we've made up our minds  
We signed 3, 4, 5 on the dotted lines  
Don't forget yourselves we've made up our minds  
We signed 3, 4, 5 on the dotted lines _

_You'll find me in the same spot believe me  
I could never stop, my life's turned upside down  
Meet me out past the train tracks I'm leavin' and not coming back  
You're right and I was wrong  
You'll find me in the same spot believe me  
I could never stop, my life's turned upside down  
Meet me out past the train tracks I'm leavin' and not coming back_

Ron, Hermione and Harry sat in a room full of people in Hogwarts.

"It's going to happen," Harry said, "He's coming here."

"Why did Draco let us go?" Ron asked, as if he'd been holding in the question for a while now.

"Ron, this might not be the time for this," Harry said.

Hermione took a deep breath, "No, I think you should know," she closed her eyes, afraid of their reactions, but they needed to know the truth, "I was in love with Draco Malfoy," she said finally, "We dated all sixth year. I know you may never understand, and I know I lied to you, but we were in love."

Both boys were silent.

"But… you… I mean _we_… hated him. All of us did. How could we have never known about this?" Harry asked in surprise.

"I was scared," Hermione told him, "I didn't think you would accept it, knowing what he was, what he _is._"

Harry was now the one to take a deep breath so he would speak rationally, "Look, Hermione, I'm not going to tell you I'm a fan of the guy… but he did just save our lives, so I'm going to trust you on this. I understand why you would be scared to tell us, but I wish you could have trusted us more. We love you and we just want you to be happy."

Ron was still silent, but he nodded.

"It's too late now," Hermione said as a tear slid down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Ron put a hand on her shoulder, "It must have been important to you. He did save our lives, and for that, we can try to understand for you."

Hermione half-smiled at her two best friends as more tears started to fall down her face, "I think I just need a second," she said getting up.

"Of course," Harry nodded.

"I'm just going to go sit in the room next door for a minute, I'll be back soon," she said.

She left the door open a crack for light as she walked into the empty classroom. It was the same one her and Draco used to study in. she couldn't believe he had put himself in so much danger just to save her. She could only imagine the trouble it must have gotten him in. Hermione put her head in her hands as she thought about the boy she would never see again, the boy who saved her life.

The door creaked open and her head shot up.

"Draco…" Hermione gasped, looking at the boy in the doorway.

"Just let me talk, okay," Draco said walking toward her, out of breath, but a smile of relief on his face, "I never stopped loving you; not for a day, or a minute. I know how dangerous this could be… but nothing is quite the same without you. You were right… I didn't have to go, I want to stay. I want protection. For me, my mother, my father… we all want out. And if you think we can really do it, then we want to try. I want to be with you and I'm here… I'm here to prove it to you. I messed up by leaving, can you ever forgive me?"

Hermione looked up at Draco, who was now standing in front of her, cupping her face in his hands, "You came back…" she said in shock, "This is crazy. I know how much trouble this is putting you in, putting myself in even, but I want this. It's worth it to me."

They smiled at each other for a moment of bliss and then she kissed him hard, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and he kissed her back fervently, lifting her from the ground.

"This may not end perfectly, you know," he said seriously, "Something could happen to one of us when the battle starts."

"But it's going to end," Hermione smiled, "It's all going to be over soon… and I'm with you, and you're on the right side now. It's going to be okay."

Draco grinned down at her and they kissed again, softly this time; passionately.

"If, when this is all over, we're both still here, then I promise, this is it for me, Granger, you're it for me."

"And you're it for me. But we've got to go fight now, so we can get to the other side."

She held out her hand and Draco took it, together they walked through the door and into a room full of the Order, the student, and the teachers.

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy walked in behind them. Everyone stood up with their wands out but Hermione looked at Draco and then back to the group, "It's okay," she said with a smile, "They're on our side now."

Slowly, everyone lowered their wands again, trusting Hermione's judgment.

"We're here to help you, we want to fix the things that we've done," Lucius said, "Please let us fight with you."

Harry eyed them both and then nodded once.

"I have something I need to do while you all hold off the Death Eaters," Harry said, turning back to everyone, "But tonight, we fight together, and tonight, we bring an end to the Dark Lord," Harry said as he pulled out his wand.

"That's my wand!" Draco whispered to Hermione.

"Don't worry, you've got your new one," Hermione said, handing him a wand she had picked up from a student who had dropped it on their way out of the castle hours ago, "Harry needs yours, It'll all make sense in the end," she promised.

_  
You're right and I was wrong  
This town will be the downfall of us all,  
this town will be the downfall of us all.  
Downfall of us all  
Downfall of us all  
Downfall of us all  
Downfall of us all._

- - - - - - - - - -

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this little one-shot! I'm having a bit of writer's block with my story Prisoner, so I wanted to get something fun out for everyone!

Please please please review, it would make my day!

Also, Please check out my other fanfics if you haven't already!!! Through Her is my complete long fic and Prisoner is my new, in-progress fic! I also have 2 other one-shot song-fics :]

Jenny


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